A Perfect Moral Storm

The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change

Stephen M. Gardiner

Defends a controversial thesis about the nature of the climate problem, arguing that because the problem is dominated by its intergenerational aspect, existing institutions and theories are poorly placed to cope.

Contains an in-depth analysis of geoengineering from an ethical perspective.

A Perfect Moral Storm

The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change

Stephen M. Gardiner

Description

Climate change is arguably the great problem confronting humanity, but we have done little to head off this looming catastrophe. In The Perfect Moral Storm, philosopher Stephen Gardiner illuminates our dangerous inaction by placing the environmental crisis in an entirely new light, considering it as an ethical failure. Gardiner clarifies the moral situation, identifying the temptations (or "storms") that make us vulnerable to a certain kind of corruption. First, the world's most affluent nations are tempted to pass on the cost of climate change to the poorer and weaker citizens of the world. Second, the present generation is tempted to pass the problem on to future generations. Third, our poor grasp of science, international justice, and the human relationship to nature helps to facilitate inaction. As a result, we are engaging in willful self-deception when the lives of future generations, the world's poor, and even the basic fabric of life on the planet is at stake. We should wake up to this profound ethical failure, Gardiner concludes, and demand more of our institutions, our leaders and ourselves.

"This is a radical book, both in the sense that it faces extremes and in the sense that it goes to the roots." --Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"The book's strength lies in Gardiner's success at understanding and clarifying the types of moral issues that climate change raises, which is an important first step toward solutions." --Science Magazine

"Gardiner has expertly explored some very instinctual and vitally important considerations which cannot realistically be ignored. --Required reading." --Green Prophet

"Gardiner makes a strong case for highlighting and insisting on the ethical dimensions of the climate problem, and his warnings about buck-passing and the dangerous appeal of moral corruptions hit home." --Times Higher Education

"Stephen Gardiner takes to a new level our understanding of the moral dimensions of climate change. A Perfect Moral Storm argues convincingly that climate change is the greatest moral challenge our species has ever faced - and that the problem goes even deeper than we think." --Peter Singer, Princeton University

Chapter 4: In the Shadow of a Common TragedyI. Climate Prisoners?II. An Evolving TragedyIII. Beyond PessimismIV. Lingering TragedyV. Climate Policy in the ShadowsVI. Conclusion

Part C: The Intergenerational Storm

Chapter 5: The Tyranny of the ContemporaryI. Problems with 'Generations'II. Intergenerational Buck-PassingIII. Intergenerational Buck-Passing vs. The Prisoners' DilemmaIV. The Features of the Pure Intergenerational ProblemV. Applications and ComplicationsVI. Mitigating FactorsVII. The Non-Identity Problem: A Quick AsideVIII. Conclusion

Chapter 7: A Global Test for Political Institutions and TheoriesI. The Global TestII. ScenariosIII. A ConjectureIV. Theoretical VicesV. An Illustration: UtilitarianismVI. Understanding the ComplaintVII. Conclusion

Chapter 8: Cost-Benefit ParalysisI. Cost-Benefit Analysis in Normal ContextsII. CBA for Climate ChangeIII. The Presumption Against DiscountingIV. The Basic Economics of the Discount RateV. Discounting the Rich?VI. Declining Discount RatesVII. Two Objections to "Not Discounting"VIII. The "Devil's in the Details" ArgumentIX. Conclusions

Part E: Moral Corruption

Chapter 9: Jane Austen vs. Climate EconomicsI. CorruptionII. The Dubious Dashwoods: Initial ParallelsIII. The Opening Assault on the Status of the Moral ClaimIV. The Assault on ContentV. Indirect AttacksVI. The Moral of the Story

Chapter 10: Geoengineering in an Atmosphere of EvilI. An Idea that is Changing the WorldII. The Problem of Political Inertia RevisitedIII. Two Preliminary Arguments: Cost and "Research First"?IV. Arming the FutureV. Arm the Present?VI. Evolving ShadowsVII. Underestimating 'Evil'VIII. An Atmosphere of Evil?IX. "But... Should We Do It?"

A Perfect Moral Storm

The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change

Stephen M. Gardiner

Author Information

Stephen M. Gardiner is Professor of Philosophy and Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor of Human Dimensions of the Environment at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is the coordinating co-editor of Climate Ethics: Essential Readings (Oxford, 2010), and the editor of Virtue Ethics: Old and New (Cornell, 2005). He is currently co-editing the Oxford Handbook on Environmental Ethics with Allen Thompson.

A Perfect Moral Storm

The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change

Stephen M. Gardiner

Reviews and Awards

"Gardiner has expertly explored some very instinctual and vitally important considerations which cannot realistically be ignored. --Required reading." --Robin Whitlock, Green Prophet

"Gardiner makes a strong case for highlighting and insisting on the ethical dimensions of the climate problem, and his warnings about buck-passing and the dangerous appeal of moral corruptions hit home." --Steve Yearley, Times Higher Education

"Stephen Gardiner takes to a new level our understanding of the moral dimensions of climate change. A Perfect Moral Storm argues convincingly that climate change is the greatest moral challenge our species has ever faced -- and that the problem goes even deeper than we think." --Peter Singer, Princeton University

"This is a radical book, both in the sense that it faces extremes and in the sense that it goes to the roots." -- Holmes Rolston, III, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Everyone who is interested in ethics, the future of her children, or the welfare of the planet, should read this book. Clear, analytically precise, and superbly written, Gardiner does practical philosophy at its very best. In analyzing the ethics of climate change, no moral philosopher anywhere does a better job than Gardiner. He sets the standard for work in this area." --Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Philosophy and Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame

"Gardiner's A Perfect Moral Storm sets a new standard in erudition, philosophical rigor, and interdisciplinary breadth in discussions of climate ethics. This book should be read by any philosopher, scientist, or policy-maker who is serious about addressing the moral challenge with which climate change confronts us." --Dale Jamieson, Environmental Studies and Philosophy, New York University

"Written with great authority and lucidity, A Perfect Moral Storm identifies exactly why our ethical theories and intuitions have been found wanting in relation to climate change. Before seeking to remove the speck in other people's eyes--laying the blame--it is best to remove the log in one's own. Gardiner's book helps us to do just that: for professionals, students and advocates alike. This will be an important benchmark analysis for years to come." -- Mike Hulme, Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia

"In the most penetrating analysis yet Gardiner convincingly shows the sources of the dangers likely to be our frightful legacy to coming generations. With steely foresight he pioneers the exploration of the climate abysses, including geo-engineering, that shamefully bad idea whose time seems ready to come." --Henry Shue, Politics and International Relations, Oxford University

"A Perfect Moral Storm exposes the multiple hidden agendas behind the fiery but largely vacuous public debate that focuses on the credibility of climate change science. By challenging us to acknowledge and come to grips with the profound ethical dimensions of global, intergenerational issues like human induced climate change, Gardiner's book will help us to understand and hopefully to move beyond the current impasse in environmental policy legislation." --Mike Wallace, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington

"Gardiner's is a distinctive voice at the forefront of contemporary debates about the ethical implications of climate change. Much of what he writes is profoundly unsettling, revealing not only the nature and scale of the problem facing us -- a perfect moral storm --but also why it is so hard for us to shift the personal and institutionalized motivations that are leading us into an already unfolding global environmental tragedy. I expect the book to be highly influential in shaping ethical debate in the years to come." --Tim Hayward, Environmental Political Theory, University of Edinburgh

"The book's strength lies in Gardiner's success at understanding and clarifying the types of moral issues that climate change raises, which is an important first step toward solutions." --Science Magazine